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510 Dash lights (not working)


oldgasman

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Relay cleaned does not automatically mean that it now works. The fact that low beams are the 'fall back' position of the relay when off should say that it's still got problems.

 

 

You can go around the relay to prove the lamps are wired and filaments working by...

 

Ground the Red/Black wire that goes to the low beams and they should come on. 

 

Ground the Red/White wire to the high beams and they should come on... if connected, and the filaments not burned out.

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Well that eliminates anything on the front side of the relay.

 

On the lighting switch, when set to turn on the headlights a ground is placed on both wires going to the relay. The relay determines weather hi or low beams get the ground to turn them on. If you have low beams then high beams has to be available also. This leaves the relay. Maybe a broken wire inside, or contacts not contacting.

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If it is, then replacing the relay won't fix it.

 

Test it. Does the dimmer switch wire at the relay connect to ground when flipped forward? If it does not that's your problem.

 

Well he said the relay clicked so I assume the dimmer is operating the relay even if the lamps don't switch to high.

 

Some models have a common ground wire to the rad support. Others are grounded through the lighting switch in the on position. But if the low beams work then the ground must be good. 

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Exactly.

 

I think i said it wrong, only the positive side differs with the new fuse box. The ground side circuit is the same.

 

510_headlamp_wiring_late.jpg

I think the earlier relay ties the two black (low & high ground) wires together at the relay and is grounded nearby.. the rad support?

 

The one you pictured has Red/Black (low) and Red/White (high) colored ground wires to the lighting switch and to ground, dash?

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Yes its very confusing because wile many ratsuners have discussed it they rarely identify years, etc. maybe not realizing it differs.

 

And the factory parts catalog seems to have the relays missing. But they are cheap at Nissan, except the local dealers can't find them in the catalog.

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  • 3 years later...

Hey everyone! Sorry to bump an old thread but after extensive searching this is the closest thread I could find to my issue and didn’t want to make a new thread.

 

Backstory: new 510 owner of a 1972 510 with sr20de swap. 2 previous owners and neither of them were electricians judging by the wiring jobs. When i first got the car the gauge lights and tail lights worked (idk about high beams as it only had the two outer headlights.) After about 20 mins of bumpy, lowered riding, the dash lights and tail lights cut out. Then, they would come back on every so often, particularly under hard acceleration.

 

At this point, they are never on. I have taken apart the dash and looked through and cleaned up connections where I could. Similarly, I have replaced the fuses, cleaned contacts of the relay, checked the board of the gauges for breaks, checked the truck and side markers for shorts (i dont have side markers since i have IMSA flares), etc. I am 90% sure it’s a loose connection due to the fact that it came off and on periodically after it initally failed for no reason.

 

At this point I am running out of ideas. My specific questions are:

1. Does the headlight relay make an audible “click” when the brights are switched even without inner headlights installed?

2. Are there typical wiring failures that I can look for that may shake loose?

3. Is there anything under the car that could impact this phenomenon? The car is super low and im not used to driving this low and have hit my share of bumps. This could have rattled something loose but could it have been something under the car?

 

Sorry for the long post, I wanted to piggyback on this thread since it didn’t already have a happy ending. Any help is appreciated!

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ONE

The 'at rest' position of the headlamp relay is high beams.

 

When you pull the switch out to the second position to turn the headlamps on, there are two possible things that can happen.

 

1/ If the turn signal switch is set to low beams, the relay will energize and switch from it's rest position to LOW beams. You may hear the click.

2/ If the turn signal switch is on high beams, the relay is already on high beams and nothing happens. There is no click.

 

You do not need headlamps for the relay to work. But you do need the parking lights working or the relay will stay in the high beams position. The relay is powered by the parking lights.

 

 

TWO

No wiring conditions that I can think of. If a previous owner has messed with the wiring, I woulds look there.

 

THREE

None of the 510s lighting wiring is low on the car and certainly none of it is on the exterior and is well protected inside. But again if a previous owner has messed with it and something is loose, bumps might affect it.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When the headlamp switch is pulled there are two positions or clicks. The first turns on the front and rear side marker, front parking, rear running, license plate lamps and the instrument cluster lamps. The second position does the same thing but also turns on the headlights.

 

As dash AND tail lights go out together I would suspect the lighting switch. I would imagine the front parking and side marker lights are out as well. Have you tried wiggling the headlamp switch when it on???

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Thanks a ton for the reply. This is very helpful.

 

So it looks like the problem may be with the headlight switch. When i pull it out 1 time, nothing happens (no lights) when I pull it out a second time, the front headlights (highbeams? Outer most headlights) come on.

 

I tried jiggling the light switch (good suggestion) but to no avail. I suppose it’s possible that the lightswitch has failed entirely.

 

To make matters worse, I somehow lost power to my brake lights now as well as reverse lights, so the only lights I have on the rear of the car are turn signals. Headlights/high beams still work.

 

I am worried that I am working backwards and will never make inspection at this point lol

 

Edit: brake lights were a blown fuse. However, i noticed that onthe high beam/turn signal switch, there is a black wire with green stripe that appears to have been soldered/terminated somewhere and I cant find where. It looks like it is ground for the switch according to the wiring diagrams. (This is not the green with black stripe wire, it’s black with green stripe.) I will continue to look for this connection point and report my findings.

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The outer lamps are the HI/LOW beams and should have 3 wires. The inner lamps are just HI beams and have only 2 wires. I say this because they could have been swapped around by a PO.

 

The Black/Green wire on the steering column is grounded by the horn button to energize the horn relay.

 

HEADLAMP SWITCH

The Green/Blue and the Green/White wires are connected on the first and second pull out position on the light switch. This gives you all the running lamps front, back, side, dash and it powers the headlamp relay. (you need parking lamps in order to select low beams) The Green/White wire brings power from the fuse box. The Green/Blue distributed to the rest of the car. If the first position is not working but the second is, then the switch is at fault.

 

I have taken at least two headlamp switches apart. But first know that they are held together with folded metal clips that can be straightened once, with luck, and then bent back when re-assembling. More than this and the clips crack and snap off. I was able to clean the old hardened grease and crap off the brass/copper contacts and spring inside and get them working again. You might get the same results by heavily spraying with WD-40 to rinse it out while pulling the switch in and out through it's two positions. Of course this will not fix it if something is broken inside.

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Thanks again for the reply mike.

 

The connector between the headlight switch and the harness was burnt up in one spot so i cut and repinned a new connector but to no avail.

 

The switch does not do anything in the second position, and the outer headlights only come on when the switch is pulled all the way out.

 

I was able to take the switch apart (thanks for the tip on being careful) but did not see anything broken. I cleaned the contacts with rubbing alcohol and q-tips really well and reassembled everything. Unfortunately it didnt fix the second position energizing everything.

 

I also checked the blue/green wire to the switch using a test light and it did not have power. I also took apart the headlight relay for any broken connections but found none. Then, I poked around looking for shorts or broken grounds but came up empty.

 

What is meant by “parking lights”? Also, are there any other points i can troubleshoot ? I’d like to be 100% before I spend $50 on a old switch that may not be the culprit.

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Alcohol and a sharktip may not be enough. I had to take 150g sandpaper to brake the glazing of ancient grease to get mine working again. You need to make sure the metal tabs are rocking correctly on the little bearings and that the tabs themselves are not bent.

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The first position turns on all the side marker (amber fronts and red rears), parking (amber above the front bumper), red rear running, white license plate and dash lights. They also stay on for the second position but the headlights now come on.

 

If no power on the Green/Blue, but there is on the Green/White* then the switch is not allowing it through.  *check for power on the Green/White wire. This is the power supply from the fuse box.

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Thanks again for the replies!

 

I have a meaningful update in that I have checked the green and white wire and verfieid that it is NOT bringing power to the switch. The only terminal that has power is the red and white cable.

 

I also found another burnt plug (looks like the red and white wire again) and It shared a spot next to the green/white cable. I replaced the plug but again to no avail.

 

Using the test light at the fuse box all fuses have power except for the top 2 on the right side when looking from the front of the car back. (Both the headlamps)

 

At this point i am going to take out the dash, and unwrap the entire length of cable wrapping and look for shorts. Again, thanks for the help and any additional advice is appreciated.

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Thanks again for the replies!

 

I have a meaningful update in that I have checked the green and white wire and verfieid that it is NOT bringing power to the switch. The only terminal that has power is the red and white cable.

 

I also found another burnt plug (looks like the red and white wire again) and It shared a spot next to the green/white cable. I replaced the plug but again to no avail.

 

Using the test light at the fuse box all fuses have power except for the top 2 on the right side when looking from the front of the car back. (Both the headlamps)

 

At this point i am going to take out the dash, and unwrap the entire length of cable wrapping and look for shorts. Again, thanks for the help and any additional advice is appreciated.

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